Virtual Machines - where do i start?

[Nvidiaguy07]

ok so ive finally decided to get rid of my xp partition because i never use it but just in case i need i someone told me about running it in a virtual machine.

I really have no idea how to run one is there a tutorial somewhere?

I downloaded VMware-server-2.0.0-122956 but im not sure if that's what i should be using. If someone could point me in the right direction it would be appreciated.

 

[Sam25]

I've also been looking for Virtual Machine tutorials recently. The one I've come up with after a quick Google search is this one:

http://www.goodells.net/virtualpc/index.htm

Anyone know any other tutorials?

 

[lxskllr]

I'd just download some VM software, and play around with it. It's pretty easy to feel your way through. VMware server doesn't play nice with Vista64. VirtualPC, or Virtualbox would probably be better choices for that.

 

[dbarton]

Virtual PC is so easy you probably don't even need a manual to set XP up.
And it's free.

 

[Jeff7181]

VMware Server looks for a Server class OS before it installs so if you're using Vista or XP you'll have to pull some trickery to get it to work.

To get started, I'd suggest using VMware Player, which is free, and then downloading some appliances to get a feel for how virtual machines work. After your comfortable using them, then move on to creating them. I prefer Virtual PC for this since it's free. VMware Player doesn't create virtual machines.

If you feel adventurous after that... create a virtual machine and get it working in Virtual PC, then use VMware Converter to convert it into a virtual machine you can run in VMware Player.

 

[dbarton]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
If you feel adventurous after that... create a virtual machine and get it working in Virtual PC, then use VMware Converter to convert it into a virtual machine you can run in VMware Player.

I'm curious what you see as a benefit to moving VMWare . Why not stay in VPC?

 

[lxskllr]

VMware Server works fine in 32bit standard Windows, no trickery necessary in my experience. Driver signing in Vista64 makes it a PITA though, and for as little as I use it VirtualPC works fine for my needs,

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: dbarton

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
If you feel adventurous after that... create a virtual machine and get it working in Virtual PC, then use VMware Converter to convert it into a virtual machine you can run in VMware Player.

I'm curious what you see as a benefit to moving VMWare . Why not stay in VPC?

Platform independence. You can run a VMware virtual machine on a Windows host, Linux host, Unix host, Mac host... Virtual PC virtual machines only run on a Windows host. You can even convert them to run in VMware ESX Server.

 

[Chiefcrowe]

Yeah, i've installed vmware server under vista before and no major issues!

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
VMware Server looks for a Server class OS before it installs so if you're using Vista or XP you'll have to pull some trickery to get it to work.

To get started, I'd suggest using VMware Player, which is free, and then downloading some appliances to get a feel for how virtual machines work. After your comfortable using them, then move on to creating them. I prefer Virtual PC for this since it's free. VMware Player doesn't create virtual machines.

If you feel adventurous after that... create a virtual machine and get it working in Virtual PC, then use VMware Converter to convert it into a virtual machine you can run in VMware Player.

 

[Modelworks]

Virtual box to me is the best.
Runs on every OS and is easy to use, and also free
http://www.virtualbox.org/

Allowed me to run windows 7 beta while inside linux.